The show "should" go on

[sk8rsdad]

Every now and then something happens in the theatre that increases risk. The risk might be small or large. The risk might land somewhere on the spectrum of unlikely to probable. The question is this: what would be the tipping point for you to decide to cancel a show?

I'm pretty sure we'd all agree about a tornado bearing down on our outdoor concert, or finding something small like a loose screw on a caster before the curtain goes up.

I want to keep this open-ended but I will throw out a couple of situations. Suppose you find a rigging issue like the one on a recent thread about a dead hung truss? It's a life safety issue, but does it warrant condemning the facility? What if some of the stage drapes get wet and the flameproofing is compromised? Does the show go on?

 

[Dionysus]

It indeed entirely depends and comes down to a judgement call. Life safety comes first.

Improper rigging? Fix it. Hopefully it can be done before curtain. Does the facility need to be condemned? Not in my eyes, but again that depends. A single stick of truss improperly rigged? Noone allowed ANYWHERE near it (or more under it) until its fixed.

Wet drapes compromising flame proofing? Well is there a possible fire or ignition source nearby? Yes it should be addressed as soon as possible but realistically if during the show someone spills water on a drape I am not going to halt the show.
Then again if I know there is an open flame (say a tiki torch) going to be near that same drape than things turn a whole lot more serious.

 

[chawalang]

The potential immediate possibility of loss of life or limb.

I know thats broad but I feel that it is a good blanket statement.

 

[Catwalker]

Every now and then something happens in the theatre that increases risk. The risk might be small or large. The risk might land somewhere on the spectrum of unlikely to probable. The question is this: what would be the tipping point for you to decide to cancel a show?

I'm pretty sure we'd all agree about a tornado bearing down on our outdoor concert, or finding something small like a loose screw on a caster before the curtain goes up.

Just tell everyone that the thunder is the bass drum, and the lighting is a lighting effect.

Seriously, though, there is an outdoor theatre about an hour away from me where (they used to, at least), start the show, no matter the weather. Rain or shine or thunder or hail. That way, when the audience left on their own, the company wouldn't have to refund the tickets or reschedule the performance. So, I heard from a friend that they witnessed this happening during a thunderstorm:
It was raining hard. The orchestra pit was not covered like the stage was, at the time, so there ended up about an inch or two of water on the pit floor. As such, they had to cut power to the music stand lights, so, the players were left with their feet up on the stand to keep dry, holding a lighter close to the page to read the music, playing with one hand. The player in question was a trumpet player, as I'm sure the tuba section would have trouble playing with one hand, speaking from experience.

Now, this story took place a long time ago, they've probably fixed these weather issues, and the protocols for responding to them. The theatre has been renovated since.

Also, as long as the audience pays in advance...

 

[porkchop]

Not to hijack too much, but the first step of making this decision is having a person that is actually able to make the call.
I've seen several shows (one offs and touring shows are the worst at this) where no one on site can decide to cancel the show. In one building (In the US with the local power authority as a sponsor) I lost power to the entire building about 60 seconds into opening and the audience sat in the dark for the next 45 minutes. We finally got power back on, finished act 1, and promptly lost power just as the music started for act 2. 15 more minutes of darkness and then we finally finished the show. At no point did we seriously discuss canceling the show. Mostly because it was 11PM at corporate headquarters and we needed to get a hold of the people there to find someone with the authority to walk the show. Not a safety problem, (although I've seen more of those than I'd like to admit to) but really what could the audience have enjoyed when they sat in the dark being heckled to buy overpriced knickknacks for 1/2 of their time in the venue that night.
When planning for an event, especially if there are multiple companies with money on the line, it's very important to have a person on site that can say that things have gotten out of hand and we need to call this off. Our late night schedules mean that usually our crises tend to happen well after bean counters and corporate managers usual business hours, and time zones especially complicate this.

 

[kiwitechgirl]

I've held a show (well, opening the house but to the same effect) for twenty minutes in order to get the auditorium temperature down - our AC had broken down earlier in the day, it was the middle of summer and by the time it was fixed the temperature in the theatre was up around 30 degrees Celsius and I had a principal actor refusing to go on unless it cooled down. The AC wasn't powerful enough to cool a full house - it would maintain but not lower the temp with the audience in so we had to wait.

Being from Christchurch I also rapidly learned how big an earthquake had to be to stop the show. Anything under about 4.5 wouldn't stop us unless cast were uncomfortable with continuing. Anything between 4.5 and about 5.5 would be a pause to check everyone was happy, audience given the option to leave if they chose, then continue; anything above that was a showstopper so we could check the building for safety.

In my current job we do outdoor opera on a massive scale in late summer/early autumn and we have a very strict set of guidelines as to when we cancel. We lost the last act of Carmen one night a few years ago when torrential rain came through suddenly, and the entire last half of Madama Butterfly the next year when there was a lightning storm visible from the site - we weren't affected directly but it was close enough that they couldn't operate the cranes which meant no halftime scene change which made continuing impossible. The cast were not upset though as it was close enough to be disconcerting. We also always have wind plans in place - various parts of the set don't get operated if the wind speeds are too high.

 

[balderson04]

Last night, in the midst of The Merchant of Venice at our theatre, Portia said "There are some shrewd contents in yon same paper, that steals the colour from Bassanio's cheek" and the thunder rocked the building and the lights flickered -- a nice effect! Across town, my son is playing the Telephone Repairman in Barefoot In The Park. At the same moment, all the power went out in their theatre. After a moment in the dark, he ad-libbed "Well, THERE's why your phone's not working!"

 

[JD]

I think it depends on the source of the risk. Think about this-
1) You are running spotlight for a circus act. A woman is about to walk the highwire without a net. It is a death defying act. There is the possibility she could die due to a fall with no safety. In this case, the risk is accepted by all involved. You hope that her and her crew have taken all variables into account, but the very nature of the act has a lot of risk. Do you refuse to participate?
2) Same show, but you have discovered that the power to your super trouper is via an orange 16awg "home depot" style extension cord that is tucked under the canvas of the tent for its full run. Do you refuse to participate?
Most of us would be ok with #1 but not with #2. The reason has to due to "unnecessary risk" and/or clear violation. When you see corners being cut that produce a clear and present danger, or see a danger that others may have missed, that (in my opinion) is the time to get vocal. You have seen a risk that others may have missed and as such have the opportunity to prevent death, injury, or loss. The need becomes amplified when the risk is by intent for the sake of increasing profit. All work has some risk but no one wants to add unnecessary risk.

 

[gafftaper]

So many good thoughts here.

Personally I like to start with my two little boys at home and ask myself, "would I allow my sons to..." walk on that platform, use that prop, stand under the heavy flying thing, etc... If I would have any hesitation about my own kids being in the situation I know it's time to stop and seriously reexamine the safety of the situation.

 

[FMEng]

For outdoor performances, if the National Weather Service issues a Warning up for your area, that should be an automatic cancellation. Every outdoor venue should have a properly setup SAME alert radio where it can be monitored by a responsible person.